André Jol, EEA Head of Group Climate change impacts, vulnerability impacts, vulnerability and adaptation Conference: Adaptation to climate change: what is the situation in Belgium? Brussels, 23 November 2017 European information on climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation
EEA networking with member countries (Eionet) 33 member and six collaborating countries (ministries and environment agencies) Main target audience: policymakers at European and national levels Supporting and informing policy development and implementation by data, indicators and assessments Networking: annual Eionet workshop with all countries, expert meetings Supported by European Topic Centres, e.g. on adaptation see: http://cca.eionet.europa.eu/
Global and European policy context Global level UNFCCC Paris Agreement Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction Sustainable Development Goals European level EU Climate Adaptation Strategy EU Civil Protection Mechanism EU Action Plan on Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction EU Floods Directive EU Green Infrastructure Strategy
EU climate change adaptation strategy evaluation by the European Commission Increase in number of MS with a national adaptation strategy and/or action plan (see below) Mainstreaming in many relevant EU policies being assessed Reflecting on changes needed due to the Paris climate agreement First stakeholder workshop 5 April 2017, Second stakeholder workshop 23 Jan. 2018, Public consultation from end Nov 2017 to mid Feb. 2018 Commission communication planned for autumn 2018 Minimum of 20 % of EU funds for climate action
EU MS adaptation preparedness scoreboard European Commission within the EU adaptation strategy evaluation Process-based indicators linked to adaptation policy making process (see e.g. guidelines for national adaptation strategies) About 30 questions for various areas of performance and domains of relevance Step 1: Preparing the ground for adaptation Step 2: Assessing risks and vulnerabilities to climate change Step 3: Identifying adaptation options Step 4: Implementing adaptation action Step 5: Monitoring and evaluation Based on updated information MS submitted voluntarily in 2017 under the EU climate change monitoring mechanism (presented in country pages on Climate-ADAPT, see below) Draft MS Adaptation preparedness scoreboards prepared by end 2017, to be made available as part of public consultation
EEA products and services on climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation Impacts and vulnerability CCA & DRR National adaptation Urban adaptation Sectoral adaptation Products for 2018: Evaluation of Climate-ADAPT Climate-ADAPT Transnational regions Analysis of national CCIV Assessment CCA in sectoral policies
Climate change is affecting all European regions but adaptation needs differ across regions
The number of extreme heatwaves will increase 1980-2012 Number of extreme heatwaves over 33 years Source: JRC, Russo et al, 2014 0 1-2 2-3 3-6 6-12 12-15 15-33
Heavy rain projections 2071-2100 Winter 2071-2100 Summer 2071-2100 Change in heavy rain amount (%) Source: EURO-CORDEX, 2015
Extreme climate events are costly and life-threatening Storms, heavy precipitation, hail River floods, landslides, avalanches Heatwaves, droughts, forest fires
Main messages EEA 2014 report on Adaptation of transport to climate change in Europe Climate change threatens to compromise transport services The effects of malfunction, disturbance and broken links may stretch far beyond the originally affected area Within the transport sector, however attention to adaptation is as yet relatively low Adapting the transport system could require substantial infrastructure investments; mainstreaming of adaptation in infrastructure planning is needed now Cooperation between the many diverse stakeholders within and outside the transport sector is needed The EU and national governments can create the enabling framework and invest in the knowledge base Adaptation to climate change is a new policy area; the effectiveness of current steps should be evaluated in the future
Climate change impacts on the energy sector and system Energy demand for heating has decreased (northern and north-western Europe), while the energy demand for cooling has increased (southern and central Europe) Further increases in temperature and the occurrence of droughts may limit the availability of cooling water for thermal power generation in summer For both renewable and conventional electricity generators most of the projected impacts of climate change will be negative, but some positive impacts may occur, in particular for hydropower production in northern Europe. Energy transport infrastructures across Europe are exposed to substantial risks from increasing frequency and magnitude of weather and climate related extreme events. Infrastructures in mountain regions will be threatened by geological instability owing to increased precipitation.
Projected impacts of climate change on electricity production from different sources in four European regions Source: Adapted from Bonjean Stanton et al., 2016.
Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in Europe Enhancing coherence of the knowledge base, policies and practices (17 Oct. 2017) The report presents: Main global and European policies on CCA and DRR Knowledge base on weather-and climaterelated hazards and their impacts Good practice examples of linking CCA and DRR Opportunities and benefits from linking CCA and DRR in Europe
Dealing with disasters: good practice Six case studies: Combining risk transfer using insurance National agenda and local implementation Developing national risk assessments City networks promoting urban resilience Financing nature-based solutions Long-term programmatic approach
Key features of Climate-ADAPT Database search Countries, Cities Tools EU policy and funding Adaptation support tool Search for case studies Country profiles
European countries adaptation policies Presenting information based on official country reporting (updated until early 2017) Summary of national policies, assessments, sectors and actions, stakeholder involvement Web-based template with links to key national documents and official webpages Example: Belgium
National adaptation policy processes in Europe (updated 2017) Voluntary reporting by countries to the Commission and EEA end 2016/early 2017 Information included on Climate- ADAPT country pages 25 EU MS and 3 EEA member countries have a national adaptation strategy and 16 and 2 respectively also have action plans (national and/or multi-sectoral) Some countries are in the implementation stage Some countries have systems for monitoring and reporting in place, but few have performed evaluations Providing information and mainstreaming in sectors are the most reported policies Main policy drivers: extreme weather events and damage costs, EU policies, research EEA countries: 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 (1) Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland * France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands * Poland Portugal * Romania * Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom Iceland Liechtenstein Norway Switzerland Turkey white No policy National adaptation strategy (NAS) in place National adaptation strategy (NAS) and national and/or sectoral adaptation plans (NAP/SAP) in place * National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) updated
Cities have started to act (1) Knowledge on CC impacts, vulnerability and adaptation options has rapidly increased but many cities, especially smaller, lack the capacity to access knowledge and select appropriate available tools Adaptation has started in many cities; mainly at planning stage, implementation in few cases by front-runner cities Low cost and soft solutions are predominant cities are coping with climate variability or making incremental changes Public funds for adaptation measures are difficult to find Integrating climate adaptation requirements when replacing old or building new infrastructure for basic services will save money in the long term
Cities have started to act (2) Highlighting ecosystem-based measures ( green infrastructure ), with multiple benefits (e.g. nature protection, recreation, adaptation). These can increase the chance of securing funding Few cities recognise the need for transformative adaptation a long-term, systemic approach to anticipate future climate impacts and other changes Key new EU initiative Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy provides support (as well as city networks)
Few systemic solutions, example of Copenhagen Copenhagen Cloudburst Plan as backbone for physical development in the City Copenhagen (Denmark) implements the next decades a cloudburst plan with 300 projects, combining green, blue and grey solutions costing 1.5 billion Euro Adding more urban nature, increasing biodiversity and creating a liveable city Storm water storage space at Tåsingeplads in Copenhagen, Denmark
Case studies (examples)
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